C&O of Indiana fans will not want to miss the next Railfans of Indianapolis meeting on Feb. 13. Jeffrey S. Kehler, Secretary for the Board of Directors and Chicago Division Historian of the C&O Historical Society, will present 147 images from the Thomas W. Dixon Jr. collection of the C&O and its operations in Indiana in 1975. Dixon, founder, Chairman Emeritus, and Chief Historian of the C&O Historical Society, was stationed at Ft. Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis for about a year in 1975 and 1976 and spent his spare time traveling throughout the state photographing the C&O at various locations. The photographs he took provide an excellent overview of the C&O's Chicago Division in the mid-1970s. Jeff Kehler, now a resident of Fishers, was born and raised in Peru, the division headquarters and site of the largest yard and shops on the C&O's Chicago Division. His grandfather, George M. Kehler, was a C&O brakeman and conductor from 1942 to 1979 working east and west out of Peru in freight service and spent the last five years of his career as a passenger conductor on Amtrak's James Whitcomb Riley/The Cardinal between Peru and Cincinnati. Jeff is also bringing along his six volumes of 8x10 photographic prints of C&O Chicago Division subjects covering a time period from the 1930s to the 1980s. Attendees will be welcome to browse and discuss the photos at length after the presentation. This is a "must-attend event" for C&O Chicago Division fans. RFI meetings are held at St. Andrew United Methodist Church, 2560 Villa Ave(Indianapolis). We start to gather at 7 p.m. with the meeting beginning at 7:30. Visitors are always welcome.
